


Sisters

by PizzaHorse



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Anxiety, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Feels, Feelings, Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-09-01 08:29:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16761595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PizzaHorse/pseuds/PizzaHorse
Summary: Since moving in with the Crystal Gems, Jasper has had a hard time fitting in, and finding home. Maybe a chat with another kindergartner will help ease her worries.





	Sisters

**Author's Note:**

> The Jasper Zine is finally in the hands of the people! This was my contribution. Check https://tigerzine.tumblr.com to see if there are still copies available.

It had been weeks since Jasper had made herself more or less at home in the beachside temple. The offer had been made to let her move into Amethyst's room since there wasn't much space in the house, but after Jasper had seen the state of it she'd declined. Sometimes during the day she could be found lounging around the house, but at night Jasper would frequently disappear. Where she went, nobody was sure.

The Crystal Gems tried their best to talk with Jasper when she was around, but the larger gem wasn't much for conversation. They all knew from experience with Peridot and Lapis Lazuli that adjusting to life on Earth could take awhile, and they all did their best to give Jasper the time and space she needed.

Sometimes, when Jasper was lounging on the couch in the main area of the house, Amethyst would come sit near her. They often didn't speak, but Jasper never asked her to leave and didn't seem displeased by the company. There was some kind of solidarity in it, some comfort for the both of them. Being born from the same rock, even millennia apart, was the closest thing to family that gems had. Maybe that was why Jasper tolerated her company.

The silent bonding seemed to pay off, because one day Jasper spoke up. "Amethyst?"

"Hm?" The purple gem had started to doze off, but upon registering that Jasper was finally talking, she perked up.

Jasper stared ahead as she spoke, seeming to think about every word before it left her lips. "I've been thinking, and I wanted to ask you something."

"Oh yeah? That big brawny brain of yours isn't just full of rocks after all?" Amethyst teased.

The orange gem scowled but continued with her question. "How are you always so happy?" she asked, turning to Amethyst.

"What do you mean?" The other gem met Jasper's eyes for a moment, then quickly turned away from the intense stare.

"You're always smiling and laughing." Her look softened to a more confused and contemplative gaze.

"I guess it's because," the purple gem thought for a moment, "I do the things I love. Eating, wrestling, napping. My friends help too. Pearl. Garnet. Steven. Rose when she-" Amethyst cleared her throat. Rose's departure was not a memory she liked to dredge up and avoided whenever she could.

Jasper looked down at her feet. "Were you close?"

"Almost inseparable."

"I know how that feels."

Silence dwelled between them again for several moments. When Amethyst looked at Jasper again, she could see the wheels in her head turning, as if she had more to say. Amethyst wanted to ask what she was thinking, but she refrained, giving Jasper the time she needed, even if she was impatient.

"What was she like?" Jasper finally spoke up.

Amethyst barely hesitated. "She was majestic. Beautiful. Perfect. Elegant. Noble. Powerful."

"Mm." Jasper murmured thoughtfully. "Sounds like someone I used to know too."

But the purple gem had more to say on the matter. "She accepted all of us despite our flaws. She celebrated them. That's just how Earth is; everyone comes into it a little bit different. Humans, and gems. We're all perfect in our own way. Even if a bunch of gems look the same, they all have a different cut. Everybody has something that makes them stand out from the rest, even if it's small. We're all unique. Nobody can be perfect if nobody is the same. At least that's what Rose used to say."

Jasper had always considered herself perfect. Homeworld had told her she was perfect. But the way Amethyst spoke about perfection reminded Jasper of how imperfect she had always felt. Being back on Earth stirred up memories that had been pushed down for years, that she had struggled to forget. Her cowardice at retreating from Earth as ordered by the Diamonds. Leaving behind countless other gems to save herself. Being saved probably because she was seen as better than everyone else. They'd all fought the same war. They all deserved to have made it out. If she was really so perfect, how could she have failed them all?

Amethyst's voice broke through the haze in Jasper's mind. "Where do you go? At night, when you go out."

Jasper could only manage one word. "Home."

"Oh." Amethyst immediately knew what she meant. The Kindergarten. Even when Amethyst had been found by Rose, welcomed to the temple, and made a part of the Crystal Gems, there had still been times when she went "home" too. She had been born there, spent her first few hundred years all alone in that dead and decrepit place. There would always be a piece of her that lived there. Maybe it was the same for Jasper. It was probably the most familiar thing to her on this planet.

The purple gem placed a gentle hand on Jasper's shoulder. She flinched, then straightened up, pretending like nothing had happened. "You asked me why I'm always happy. The truth is, I'm not. Not always." Amethyst sighed and ran a nervous hand through her hair. "I didn't fight in the war. Garnet, Pearl, and Rose always seemed closer because of it. I knew that they welcomed and accepted me but it never quite felt like I had what they had. Even among other gems that Homeworld would consider defects, I felt like an outsider. So if you don't feel like you fit in right away, or ever, that's okay. Maybe it's a quartz thing." she shrugged.

"A quartz thing." Jasper repeated thoughtfully. "Even if we're all different, some things are the same. Like being quartzes." The orange gem turned to Amethyst, placing a hand atop the one that rested on her shoulder. "And missing home."

"And being annoyed with how clean Pearl likes to keep the house?" Amethyst laughed. She wasn't too keen on long, serious conversations and took the opportunity to lighten the mood.

"And punching things!" Jasper suddenly got up whacked Amethyst in the shoulder.

"Kicking things!" Amethyst joined in with a swift bash to Jasper's knee, which the larger gem didn't even seem to feel. "Wrestling!" The purple gem went for another approach and tried to tackle Jasper, but mostly succeeded in ramming into the equivalent of a solid brick wall.

Jasper brushed Amethyst off before picking up the wooden coffee table and holding it high over her head. "Smashing things!"

"Wait!" Amethyst raised her hands up to try to stop Jasper, even though there was no way she could reach. "Not the coffee table. You're not around enough and Pearl will blame me."

Jasper grumbled but placed the piece of furniture back down gently.

"Buuuuttt I know there's lots of washed up junk to smash down at the beach!" Amethyst sprinted for the door and Jasper quickly followed, a grin spreading across her face once she was sure the other gem wasn't looking. They rushed out into the crisp coastline air, sharing a bond that no one else would probably ever understand.

Now that she'd been able to talk about her feelings, at least a little, Jasper felt like a weight had been lifted. She wasn't completely, entirely happy just yet, but Amethyst had admitted she wasn't either. It helped, knowing that sometimes being accepted and welcomed just wasn't enough, no matter how amicable everyone else tried to be.

So what if she was stuck on a planet that wasn't perfect? Homeworld couldn't exactly be considered a utopia either. Earth was whatever you made it, and Jasper could choose to live in a paradise or a prison. It was her home now, just as it always had been. She could embrace the situation and be as happy as she could be, or sulk and be miserable. And with Amethyst's help and encouraging words, Jasper decided she'd try the former, at least for now. There'd be time enough to sulk later.


End file.
